Manchester United failed to register a shot on target as their pre-season campaign ended with a whimper.
Javi Martinez headed the only goal of the game in the second half as Bayern Munich edged out Jose Mourinho’s side.
United, who were still without Romelu Lukaku in attack, looked lethargic in what was their final dress rehearsal for the Premier League season which starts on Friday.
Mourinho, who has cut a frustrated figure throughout the summer, will not have felt his mood lighten as watched his side go down to a Bayern team which had won just one of their three previous friendlies.
Here are five talking points from Sunday’s game…
1. Martial goes AWOL
Anthony Martial’s absence from the squad was conspicuous.
There is continued speculation that the French youngster could be sold this summer – and that will only intensify after he was nowhere to be seen at the Allianz Arena on Sunday night.
His failure to travel with the team to Germany could be down to family matters following the birth of his son and the suggestion Martial’s partner might be suffering from post-natal sickness.
However, Martial did return to training at Carrington on Thursday and his agent has clarified that the forward wants to leave Manchester in spite of the board’s wish to keep him.
Could this be the point of no return for the Spurs target?
2. United full-backs struggle
Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben may have a combined age of 69 but they had little trouble charging in behind Matteo Darmian and Luke Shaw for the duration of the game.
Man United will face few better wingers in the first half of the season of course, but their trouble defending in wide areas was also notable in a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in the States.
Bayern got far too much joy on the flanks, the Reds giving away chances where Robben and Thiago Alcantara could have done better – and probably would later in the year.
Should they be in the market for a big-name full-back?
3. Bailly and Lindelof impress
Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof started together for the first time.
United fans have long been calling for the centre-backs to combine forces and they will be pleased with what they saw.
It’s a shame their telepathy couldn’t be put to the test against Robert Lewandowski as Bailly came off with slight knock before the Pole was introduced, but the duo cancelled out Thomas Muller in the first period.
They surely did enough to stay ahead of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones in the pecking order, so if the Reds fail to secure Toby Alderweireld, this ought to be the first-choice pairing.
4. The bus is still parked
It’s hard to know what Jose Mourinho will have learned from this friendly.
In front of an effervescent 75,000 crowd, the Special One opted to park the bus in a pre-season friendly. At times, it felt like you might have got more out of watching the fans in the stands.
Man United defended okay, but they have plenty of midfielders who are more than capable of keeping the ball and dictating the tempo and the gameplan gave them nothing to work with.
Perhaps the priority was simply ensuring the players came back from Germany injury-free. We have five days until the Reds open the Premier League season against Leicester City.
5. Rashford rises up
Marcus Rashford is back – and seems ready to impress.
The 20-year-old could reasonably complain about a lack of opportunities in Russia this summer, but with some minutes under his belt, the exciting youngster looks like he’ll be raring to make the most of every show of faith from Jose Mourinho.
Rashford, charged with playing through the middle between Juan Mata and Alexis Sanchez, had the measure of Mats Hummels and could have outpaced anyone on the pitch.
Wearing the Man United No.10 shirt worn by English greats including Wayne Rooney, Teddy Sheringham and David Beckham, it’s a elevated status he might well settle into.
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